Water closet for boats



May 16, 1939. E. HOERICHS WATER CLOSET FOR BOATS Original Filed March 26, 1937 fi t ienfaz- Edward fYoer-eca Patented May 16, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WATER CLOSET FOR. BOATS Edward Hoerichs, Baltimore, Md.

9 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements inwater closets, and more especially to those intendedfor use on boats, this application being a division of my prior application Serial No. 133,236, filed March 26, 1937.

.One. of the primary objects of the invention is to; provide supporting means for the bowl of the water closet which will compensate for the pitch or slope of the floor of the boat hull whereby,

the bowl will occupy an upright position.

I Another object is to provide a universallyadjustable stand for supporting the bowl on the floor of a boat whereby the bowl will be sup- I ported in an upright position notwithstanding that the floor of the boat may slope either longitudinally or transversely or in both of such directions.

. Another object is to provide means for supporting the bowl which is adjustable to compensate for different degrees of pitch or slope of the floor of the boat.

Another object is to provide means for supporting the bowl at different heights above the floor of the boat and thereby position the bowl atthe desired height with respect to the water line of the boat. I

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved mounting for the bowl which is adjustable to enable the bowl to be mounted at different heights above the bottom of the hull of the boat so that. the lower end or. discharge outlet of the bowl may occupy a predetermined or desired height with respect to the water-line and also to compensate for different angles of transverse and longitudinal pitches or inclinations of the bottom of the hull of the boat in order that the bowl may occupy an upright or level position when installed in different boats.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations and arrangements of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the features of novelty being pointed out more particularly in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through a boat having installed therein a water closet in accordance with the present invention;

1 Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 22- in Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the improved stand or mounting for. the closet bowl;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the mounting or stand showing the manner of mounting it on the laterally sloping side of the bottom of the hull of a boat;

Figure 5 is a perspective View of the mounting or stand with its members in adjusted relation substantially as shown in Fig. 4;

Figure 6 is a detail top plan view of the scoop for receiving and forcing water into the upper portion of the bowl for flushing it; and

Figure 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the upper member of the stand adjusted to a higher position.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in the several figures.

Water closets according to the present invention are adapted to be applied to boats of various sizes and types, and the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing and will be hereinafter described in detail. It is to be understood however that the invention is not restricted to the particular construction shown since equivalent constructions are contemplated and such will be included within the scope of the claims.

As shown in the drawing, i represents a portion of the floor or bottom of the hull of a boat, the hull bottom sloping or having a pitch longgitudinally or in a fore and aft direction as shown for example in Fig. l and also sloping or having a pitch laterally or in a direction from the keel to the side of the hull, although it will be understood that the closet is applicable also in boats the bottom of the hull of which is flat or level, either longitudinally or transversely or in both of such directions. 2 represents the closet bowl which may be of any usual or well known construction, it having preferably an annular channel 3 at its top or rim and apertures 4 leading therefrom to the sides of the bowl for flushing it, the lower or discharge end 5 of the bowl being surrounded by an outwardly extending flange 6 which is preferably located above the lower extremity of the bowl.

The closet bowl, according to the present invention, is mounted on a stand which is preferably universally adjustable to compensate for the slope or pitch of the hull bottom in a fore and aft direction and a slope or pitch of the hull bottom in a direction from the keel to the side of the boat, and is also adjustable so that it may support the bowl at difierent heights above the water-line of the boat in order that the lower or discharge end of the bowl may occupy the proper height with respect to the water-line. The stand as shown in the present instance comprises upper and lower plates I and 8 which may be composed of metal castings, these plates having openings 9 and Ill formed centrally therein and having means for connecting them in different angular relations and at different relative heights. For this purpose, the plates I and 8 are provided in the present instance with pairs of segments II and I2 cast thereon or otherwise fixed thereto at opposite sides of the central openings in the respective plates, the pair of segments on one plate being closer together than the pair of segments on the other plate so that they may fit between them. Each of the segments II on the plate I is provided with a series of holes I3 which are preferably spaced equi-distantly, one of these soles being concentric with the arcuate periphery of the respective segment, and each of the segments I2 on the plate 8 is provided with a series of holes I4, these holes being also equi-distantly spaced and one of these holes being concentric with the arcuate periphery of the respective segment. Bolts I5 extend through the holes in the respective segments I I which are concentric with the arcuate peripheries of these segments and through holes in the segments I2 and serve to clamp together the pairs of segments on the plates I and 8. Locking bolts I6 are also inserted in appropriate holes in the segments I2, these bolts having washers II which overlap the arcuate peripheries of the respective segments I I and serve as means for firmly clamping the segments I I and I2 together after they have been adjusted into the appropriate angular relationship.

The lower plate 8 of the stand is adapted to be mounted on the bottom I of the hull and to be clamped in water-tight engagement therewith by bolts I8 or other suitable means. A ferrule or pipe 20, composed of lead or other suitable ductile material and of a size to fit over'the discharge end of the bowl below the flange 6 thereon, is extended through the openings 9 and II] in the plates I and 8 and through an opening 2I of appropriate size formed in the bottom I of the hull. The lower end of this ferrule is peened or otherwise flanged outwardly against the underside of the hull bottom I and may be secured in water-tight engagement therewith by nails 22. The upper end of the ferrule is peened or otherwise flanged outwardly and is secured, as by nails 23 to the upper side of a board 24 of wood or other suitable material which is placed on the upper side of the plate I, the board 24 having a central opening therein of sufficient size for the passage of the ferrule. The bowl is firmly secured on the stand by bolts 25 which extend through the flange 6, plate I and board 24, these bolts, when tightened, firmly securing the bowl on the top of the stand and clamping the outturned flange on the ferrule and thus forming a watertight joint between the bowl and the ferrule.

Means, as shown in my prior application aforesaid, is provided for automatically withdrawing refuse from the bowl while the boat is in motion, such means comprising a shoe 26 which may be composed of a casting the forward end of which is preferably curved and is provided with an aperture 21 and the rear end of which is open, as at 28 for the discharge of the refuse. The shoe is provided at its upper edge, at the front and sides thereof, with an outturned flange 29 adapted to fit against the underside of the hull bottom and to be secured in water-tight engagement therewith by screws 30 or other suitable securing means. The interior of the shoe communicates with the lower end of the ferrule 20;

Also means, as shown in my prior application aforesaid, is provided for receiving water from the exterior of the boat while the latter is in motion and for forcing the water upwardly into the flushing channel 3 in the upper portion of the bowl, such means comprising a scoop 3I, which may be composed of a hollow casting having a surrounding flange 32 adapted to fit against the underside of the hull bottom and to be secured in water-tight engagement therewith by screws 33 or other suitable means. The forward side of the scoop or the side thereof which faces the bow of the boat is provided with a suitable number of slots 34 to admit water thereto incident to the forward motion of the boat, and the rear portion of the scoop is formed at the top with a plate 35 into which a pipe 36 is threaded, this pipe being connected at its upper end to the flushing channel 3 in the bowl and being extended downwardly through the bottom of the hull into the plate 35, a lock nut 31 being preferably threaded on the pipe 36 to secure the latter to the scoop and form a water-tight joint around the lower end of the pipe.

In installing the closet in a boat, the stand may be mounted with the lower plate 8 resting on the hull bottom and inclined to conform with the incline or inclines of the hull bottom, and the upper plate I set in a level position, the bolts I5 connecting the segments II and I2 permitting such relative angular adjustment of the plates and the bolts II locking the plates in angularly adjusted relationship. The bowl is preferably mounted at such a height with respect to the water-line a:x of the boat as to cause Water from the exterior of the boat to normally rise in the lower end of the bowl to a height slightly above the flange 6 thereof as shown in Fig. 1, the mounting of the bowl at the desired height being accomplished by placing the bolts I5 and IT in the appropriate Vertically spaced holes I4 in the segments I2, tightening of these bolts firmly securing the plates I and B in adjusted relationship. In installing the closet in a boat the bottom of the hull of which slopes upwardly from the keel to the side of the boat, the stand may be mounted on the hull bottom in the manner shown in Fig. 4, the segments II and I2 being located at the front and rear sides of the ferrule 20 and the plates I and v 8 being properly adjusted angularly about the bolts I 5 as pivotal centers so that the plate 8 may occupy an inclined position corresponding tothe lateral slope of the hull bottom and the upper plate I may occupy a level position, and the plates are firmly secured in such angular relationship by tightening of the bolts I5 and II. In installing the bowl in a boat the bottom of which of which slopes in a fore and aft direction as well as laterally, the slope of the hull bottom in both of said directions may be compensated for by rotating the stand more or less about its vertical axis from the position shown in Fig. time the position shown for example in Fig. 5 while the lower plate 8 rests on the boat bottom, and

rocking the upper plate I about the pivot bolts I5 until it assumes a level position, after which I is composed, as for example of lead, enabling it to be shaped at its upper end to conform with the level position of the bowl and at its lower end to conform with the slope or slopes of the hull bottom, and also permitting it to be peened or flanged as hereinbefore described.

In those installations where it is desirable or necessary to place the bowl in a higher position above the bottom of the hull, the stand may be adjusted in the manner shown in Fig. '7. In this figure, the upper member or plate I is set higher above the bottom member or plate 8 than in Fig. 5, and the bolts l5 are placed in holes: I3 in the segments H which are adjacent to the lower edges thereof and in the upper holes. 14 in the segments l2, and bolts [6 are placed in appropriate holes l3 in the segments ll immediately above the upper curved edges of the segments I2 these bolts having peripherally toothed or serrated washers I6 thereon which are eccentric to the respective bolts 16 and are adapted to grip or mesh with the correspondingly toothed or serrated curved edges I2 on the segments l2;

In using this arrangement, the upper and lower plates 1 and 8, after being adjusted to the desired height and set in the proper angular relation to bring the upper plate 1 level and compensate for slope of the bottom of the hull in a bolts Hi and the bolts I5, the divergent setting of the eccentric washers causing them to lock against the segments l2 and to firmly prevent rocking of the upper plate I in either direction relatively to the lower plate 8. The stand as thus adjusted, may be otherwise installed and used in the same manner as hereinbefore described.

In operation, water from the exterior of the ,boat will normally rise into the lower end of the bowl to thelevel of the water-line x-x, or substantially so. Any refuse that may be contained in the lower end of the bowl or in the ferrule, while the boat is at anchor or not in motion, will be withdrawn and washed out of the discharge end 28 of the shoe 26 by water entering the shoe through the aperture 21 incident to the tide or current of water beneath the hull. When the boat is in motion in a forward direction, water will enter the slots 34 in the scoop 3| and will be forced by the pressure of the water, incident to the forward motion of the boat, upwardly through the pipe 36 into the channel 3 surrounding the upper end of the bowl and such water will discharge through the openings 4 into the bowl, thereby flushing or washing it. At the same time, the movement of the shoe 26 through the water will produce a partial vacuum at its rear discharge opening 28 which will act to withdraw water and refuse from the lower end of the bowl and ferrule and to eject the same into the water, and also water will enter the aperture 21 in the forward wall of the shoe thereby producing a current rearwardly in the shoe which will assist in ejecting refuse therefrom, and the shoe 26 will prevent splashing of water upwardly into the bowl incident to pitching of the boat in the water.

The stand provided by the present invention enables the closet bowl to be readily mounted at the desired height with respect to the water-line of the boat so that the proper amount of water may be normally contained in the lower portion of the bowl to provide a seal, and it enables the bowl to be mounted in a level position irrespective of the fore and aft or transverse slope or pitch of the bottom of the boat hull, thus obviating the necessity of cutting a special block for mounting the bowl to suit each installation as heretofore required and which is difiicult and laborious.

I claim as my invention:

1. A water closet for boats comprising a bowl, and means for accommodating it to the pitch of the floor of a boat comprising a pair of members one for attachment to the lower end of the bowl and the other for attachment to the bottom of the boat hull, said members having openings therein, a discharge pipe extending from the bowl through said openings, means for pivotally connecting said members for adjustment into different angular relations, and means for holding said members in different angular relations.

2. A water closet for boats comprising a bowl,

and means for accommodating it to the pitch of the floor of a boat comprising a pair of members one for attachment to the lower end of the bowl and the other for attachment to the bottom of the boat hull, said members having por- 'f' tions thereon in overlapping relation, said portions on said members being capable of pivotal movement through a relatively wide angle and relatively adjustable to adjust the height of the bowl above the bottom of the hull, and means connecting the overlapping portions of said members for pivotal movement and for securing said members in different adjusted relations.

3. A water closet for boats comprising a bowl, and means for accommodating it to the pitch of the floor of a boat comprising a pair of members one for attachment to the lower end of the bowl and the other for attachment to the bottom of the boat hull, said members having pairs of flanges fixed on the respective members, the flanges of one pair overlapping those of the other pair and being adjustable to different heights, and pivots connecting the overlapping portions of said flanges to provide for pivotal movement of one of said members through a relatively wide angle relatively to the other member.

4. A water closet for boats comprising a bowl, and means for accommodating it to the pitch of the floor of a boat comprising a pair of members one for attachment to the lower end of the bowl and the other for attachment to the bottom of the boat hull, said members having segments thereon, the segments on one member overlapping the segments on the other member, means pivotally connecting said segments to permit adjustment of one of said members into different angular relations with the other member, and means on the segments of one member cooperative with the peripheral portions of the segments on the other member for locking said members in different angular relations.

5. A water closet for boats comprising a bowl, and means for accommodating it to the pitch of the floor of a boat comprising a pair of members one for attachment to the-lower end of the bowl and the other for attachment to the bottom of the boat hull, said members having segments thereon, the segments on one member overlapping the segments on the other member, the segments on one member having radially spaced openings therein, means engageable in certain of said openings and engaging the segments on the other member for supporting one of said members at one or another height above the other member and pivotally connecting said members for relative angular adjustments, and

means cooperative with said segments for securing said members in different angular relations.

6. A stand for mounting the bowls of water closets in boats comprising a pair of plates, one for attachment to the lower end of the bowl and the other for attachment to the bottom of the boat hull, said plates having segments thereon adapted to overlap one another, bolts pivotally connecting the segments of said plates on an axis concentric with the segments on one of said plates, and bolts securedtc the segments on the other of said plates and operative to clamp the segments together.

7. A stand for mounting the'bowls of water closets in boats comprising a pair of plates, one

' for attachment to the lower end of the bowl and gagement'with the peripheral portions of the segments on the other plate.

8. A water closet for boats comprising a bowl having a flange surrounding its discharge end, a pair of relatively adjustable members having openings therethrough, a ferrule composed of ductile material extending through said. openings and communicating with the discharge end of the bowl, one end of said ferrule being flanged over one of said members and under said flange on the bowl, and means for securing the flange on the bowl to the flanged over end of the ferrule.

9. A water closet for boats comprising a bowl having a flange surrounding its discharge end, upper and lower members having means for connecting for adjustment of the upper member to different heights and into different angular relations with the lower member, said members having openings therethrough, a ferrule composed of ductile material extending through the openings in said members for discharge beneath the bottom of. the hull of the boat, the upper end of the ferrule being flanged outwardly between the upper member and the flange on the bowl,

and means for clamping together said upper member and flange and the interposed flanged end of the ferrule.

EDWARD HOERICHS. 

